Similar species: Mainly B. bottae. The two species can occur in close syntopy, calling in the same shrubs along streams, and can be distinguished by the presence of usually at least some brown dorsal pigment in B. bottae.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special BehaviorsA pair was found in axillary amplexus along a stream in
woodland, during a rainy night in November. In January, calling males were found
after sunset along a brook, about one metre above the ground, near forest. Gravid
females with large yellowish eggs were still found in March.

Call: At Tolagnaro short double-click-notes (duration 60-85 ms) were
heard, repeated after intervals of 2800-5400 ms. Frequency ranges from 2.5 to
3.5 kHz and note repetition rate is about 0.3/s.

At Andasibe similar irregularly repeated double-click-notes were also often
heard. Beside this call type motivated males displayed a different acoustic
repertoire after heavy rainfall in December and January: 1) long series (duration:
5000-7000 ms) of many single click notes (note repetition rate about 10/s).
Two double-clicks occur at the end of such a series. Frequency is 3.8-4.5 kHz.
2) series of about 5 regularly repeated double-click-notes (about 2 such notes
per second), possibly with territorial function.

Eggs and tadpoles: One female deposited 260 glutinous light green
eggs measuring 2 mm in diameter (ref. 89). A female (SVL 34 mm) found in December
deposited about 300 yellowish eggs (egg diameter 2 mm, with jelly 3.5 mm. Tadpoles live in slow-running stretches of streams where the water
is shaded by abundant vegetation. They are blackish, covered with small bright
green spots. Total length in stage 25: 15-27 mm; in stages 31-41: 28-36 mm.
The eyes are directed laterally. The mouth is small and directed ventrally.
At midlength of the tail, the caudal musculature represents about 2/5 of the
total tail height. Tooth formula is 1/3+3//1+1/2 or 1/2+2//1+1/2. Metamorphosis
occurred in November; juveniles measure 11.5-14.0 mm SVL

Breeding takes place in streams (Vences and Glaw 2008).

Trends and ThreatsLeast Concern: wide distribution and large population. It occurs in the Parc National de Ranomafana, and in the Analamazoatra Special Reserve (Vences and Glaw 2008).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and lossHabitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activitiesIntensified agriculture or grazingUrbanizationHabitat fragmentation

CommentsTaken with permission from Glaw and Vences (2007).

References

Glaw, F., and Vences, M. (2007). Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar. Third Edition. Vences and Glaw Verlag, Köln.

Written by Miguel Vences and Frank Glaw (m.vences AT tu-bs.de), Assistant Professor and Curator of Vertebrates at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Zoological Museum at the University of AmsterdamFirst submitted 2000-10-24Edited by Henry Zhu (2009-05-05)